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World's Richest Plumber

11-14-2009, 12:14 PM

This here Brit did $25 million last year, some of it in heating and general home repair. I think 75% of that number is plumbing.

The reason I'm posting this is because he's mostly hourly with his rates posted on the internet. No service charge or travel time; he has GPS trackers on each truck. He's in London with a base rate for plumbing of $133.62/hour, 1 hour minimum, 15 minute increments.

25 million or so is good for service and repair. The point is, he's largely t&m with total transparency.

I bet he doesn't post on the internet, either.

GEM is a large plumbing company started out of Rhode Island. About 300 employees and 165 trucks. They did a writeup on them in one of the trade magazines I get awhile back.

Their "War Room" (What I call it. Some call it a Control Center) was pictured. It was a small amphitheater with people fielding calls on 3 or more levels of the place. In front of them was a huge screen of the areas they cover with GPS locations of all trucks.

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I called GEM. The war room wouldn't give me a price for a water heater and would only tell me the 59.00 call out charge. They seem like a George Brazil-type of company.

I don't suppose there's a way to verify the number of employees, huh? Some states (like mine) have a complete database about contractors including number of employees. Makes for some interesting conversations...

Between the two companies, Pimlico and GEM, who would you call for your own house?

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That Pimlico guy is a hardazz businessman too. If I understand the story correctly about litigation between him and a former employee.

He makes employees sign a non-compete when hired that they will work for no other company in certain areas for 6 months upon departure.

Now think about that. That's not a non-compete that you won't go in business for yourself for a certain amount of time. Once again, if I understand right, it's a non-compete that you as an employee cannot go to work for another company at all.

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That Pimlico guy is a hardazz businessman too. If I understand the story correctly about litigation between him and a former employee.

He makes employees sign a non-compete when hired that they will work for no other company in certain areas for 6 months upon departure.

Now think about that. That's not a non-compete that you won't go in business for yourself for a certain amount of time. Once again, if I understand right, it's a non-compete that you as an employee cannot go to work for another company at all.

we do T&M with a 30% markup, "that 30% covers the tax too since we don't itemize it seperately" 1 hour minimum billed in 30 minute increments after the first hour. $20 additional charge if I use a sewer snake, 150 for the camera and me for an hour, 170 for me and the jetter for an hour. Hourly rate is only 70. I have myself as a full time service plumber, and I pull a couple of our new construction guys when I get swamped. hoping to make one of them service full time very shortly

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That Pimlico guy is a hardazz businessman too. If I understand the story correctly about litigation between him and a former employee.

He makes employees sign a non-compete when hired that they will work for no other company in certain areas for 6 months upon departure.

Now think about that. That's not a non-compete that you won't go in business for yourself for a certain amount of time. Once again, if I understand right, it's a non-compete that you as an employee cannot go to work for another company at all.

You quit, you move.

J.C.

Heh! I searched for the results of the lawsuit and found this thread...I even remembered the password to this site!